Boogazine - Semiotics and colour

One of the most important aspects in design is colour. Each colour provokes a different mood, feeling or memory. A colour on a wall can change the atmosphere inside it or alter an opinion.

The reason for this is semiotics. Semiotics are the study of signs, symbols and signification. It is how we create a meaning from certain communications for example signs or logos. These assumptions and conclusions that we make are all based on previous experiences via association. Colours evoke different memories or significations because we associate them with certain things. For example the colour red may remind of us love because we think of a love heart or a red rose. These are just automatic associations we make in our head but it is what defines each colour. Semiotics come into many other aspects in design such as branding; easily recognisable brands are those with familiar shapes or colours. For example the McDonald's M or the Cadburys sign.

Red
Red is a powerful colour, it can remind us of love and passion or on the other hand, blood, hell and fire.
This is why red should be used sparingly, hints of red would create a nice character and atmosphere to a room, for example, but too much could be overpowering.


Yellow
Yellow is a cheery colour, it reminds us of spring, summer and sun. It brings happiness and energy to a room.



Orange
Orange is said to decreases irritability and hostility and improve social behaviour. So good in a busy room. It brightens an area and is welcoming.



Green
Green is a fantastic colour for interior decorating because it is like the neutral colour. It is the most natural colour as it is everywhere in nature. It is a good balancing colour.



Blue
A primary colour, associated with such qualities as tranquillity, serenity and introspection. Popular in bathrooms due to its association with water.


Purple
Violet or purple is a regal colour, something we don’t see a lot of in interiors. It is mostly seen in the pale form of mauve or lilac. Also quite a relaxing and spiritual colour.


Pink
Pink is soft and subtle it is delicate, peaceful and gentle, but bold and vibrant shocking pink can be emotional and stimulating to your senses. It is essentially a very feminine colour.


Black
Black is a dramatic color, it provides the greatest contrast when teamed with white. It is a useful color to hide or camouflage things that you don’t want to highlight as it does not reflect light from it. It can be associated with sadness and death.


White
This is probably the most used color in interior design, mostly because it is neutral and goes with anything. It is a colour associated with purity and innocence and creates a great contrast with black.

Boogazine- psychology and web design

Design and psychology may not seem like an obvious link but there are so many areas to explore. One of these is website design. As with many things, first impressions are key. Often, when i search for something on google, if I open a site that looks unappealing, dull and full of small text, i won't bother even having a look and will go to the next link straight away. Other websites automatically catch your eye and draw you in. The position of icons and pictures can be very important as are colours and image quality.

Here are some examples of BAD website design

for me, this type of design has got to be the worst. There is no one thing that draws you in and the page has no sort of order to it. the text is very small and compact and the font is standard, but not very appealing. Images are very small and everything seems to be underlined. This site wouldn't interest me so i would look for another.

This site seems to be a bit of an overload of blue. its filled with lots of blue text that goes on for ages. Images are of a poor quality and there is a man awkwardly placed at the side of the screen talking about the site which could be quite off putting if you were trying to read- he has no pause button!

 
One thing this site can not be accused of is being dull!! however, I'm sure most people visiting this site would leave with a headache! The colours are way too overpowering and actually move around on the live site. There is a dove flying round the page, a cat running along the bottom and some crazy music in the background! I won't be returning...

Now for some GOOD examples!..

A good website is one that is easily accessible, easy to understand and to navigate around. Links and icons should be clear and tactically layed out. Images should be of good quality, eye catching and draw your attention in. It should want you to go back and visit it again or recommend it to a friend, It could be inspiring. It should sell the company or brand and allow the consumer to trust them. A point has been made that 'if a man from mars can not find the focal point of the page then it is not good enough' And overall it should meet the needs of the user.

 This website is clear, the text is large and legible. The excellent images are layed out neatly and there are menu options at the top so that you can choose what to look at or read and are not bombarded with information.

sorry about the quality of the images below, click to view the original

I really like these designs which use quirky characters on their site. It gives the page a bit of character and is interesting to look at. The colours used are very appealing and i thing these sites would be easy to use for anyone.

sorry about some image sizes! won't let me edit

Boogazine - Maslows hierarchy of needs.

I've not posted on my blog for a while as i have been away but today i've gone back to research for my Boogazine. I'm still interested in the idea of looking into how the world of psychology is so intertwined with design. Below is Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. Abraham Maslow was a professor who founded a major branch of psychology known as humanistic psychology, which examines very personal concepts like basic needs and self-actualisation. Humanistic psychology is widely used in marketing to truly understand the motives that drive a consumer to buy a specific product.

The idea with this pyramid is that the basic needs are at the bottom of the table and so they need to be met before progressing up the list. So for example, when buying a car the 'safety' section would usually be considered first for example; cost, how safe the car is going to be. Once this is sorted you can start to think about maybe the style and make (esteem/self actualisation).

So, in design it can often be more important to work out what it is that the customer wants from a product/ design and who they are as opposed to fully focusing on making the design look the best. A piece of furniture may be the most stunning piece of design you have seen but it may be too expensive, not the right size or too uncomfortable to even consider buying.

Read more at http://designshack.net/articles/business-articles/design-meets-psychology-putting-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-to-work/#uSlwbo17Ic58gMI1.99

Ormskirk Hospital water tower

So, I visited the tower I have in mind for my Honours project, last weekend. The building is really interesting and has lots of character. Here are some pictures i managed to take;

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On the beautiful painted roof it reads
'Swift and House Wigan' 'Swift brothers 
Union Foundry Pemberton'

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These black structures on the outside of the building

holds metal poles which cross through the

middle of the building for support. You can see them

on pictures below of the interior.

Here you can see the nearby flats which

have a similar style and shape to

the water tower

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Amazing views from the tower

The above is the top floor which would have been used as the water tank, hence the rustiness!

These heavy metal cylindrical objects remain in the centre of the room, the owners are currently looking for a way of either moving them or incorporating them into the design. There are no windows on this floor but as there are currently plans to turn the building into two apartments, velux windows would be put onto the roof of this building.

The swift brothers were engineers and ironfounders. When looking into who they where i found this image

This is a picture of  the old Ormskirk Union workhouse which the tower overlooks, It was this workhouse that was supplied by the water tower and was built in 1851-3. Whoever was in charge would be situated at the top of the workhouse so that they could look out of the window to check on all their workers. The workhouse was designed by local architect William Culshaw who also drew up the plans for several other workhouses and buildings in the area.

Here are some wonderful pictures taken at the workhouse around 1900

childrens' ward

mens' ward

 Miss Amy Masters, superintendent of women's ward, c.1900.

They give a feel of the type of people who would have been around at the time and who would have been using the water tower.

Water Tower renovations

Most renovated water towers are now apartments or houses. other renovations i have read about include;

• student accommodation
• bed and breakfast
• light tunnel

Here are some photos of renovated water towers


     Light tunnel

                                          visitors can look up into various light boxes

                                         bed and breakfast

                                         student accommodation

Great News!

Great news, yesterday i contacted the owner of Ormskirk's hospital water tower. I explained my honours project to him and luckily he is happy to help! He has directed me to the site on the council's website where i can find plans of the building and area and we have arranged to meet up this weekend so that i can take a look around the property. So lots of pictures to come...
In the meantime I am looking into the history of this tower and other water towers. There is not a lot i could find on the Internet. Here is some information i found on the BWTAS (British water tower appreciation society) blog;

It was built in 1860 to provide water to the Poor Law workhouse that then became Ormskirk Hospital in the 1950's. 

“This is an iconic, landmark building which offers a fantastic opportunity for those looking to create their dream home. The Water Tower is of particular architectural interest due to its five storeys, side projectile pipes, arched windows and the large water tank on top. Planning permission has been granted for two flats but there is potential to create one huge five-storey residence. It will make for a stunning home.”

The 175 square meter tower was part of the hospital site purchased and developed by Persimmon Homes as Nightingale Walk.


Nearby residents also said they were in favour of the development. Neil Wynne, of Pinfold Road, said: "I would prefer it if someone moved into the water tower."


Ormskirk is also known for another water tower, the concrete 'UFO' at Scarth Hill the east of Ormskirk.


Sadly there is also a very large derelict one at Greetby Hill, now obviously a missed development opportunity but in its dotage has become reminiscent of a Victorian folly. An application to convert it into seven apartments in 2001 was later withdrawn

About BWTAS

The British Water Tower Appreciation Society exists to connect enthusiasts of water towers to share their enjoyment of their artistic, cultural, architectural, historical, social and engineering significance.

An older photo of the tower

I love the black and white roof of the building and it's five storeys. This means i can possibly find 5 different things to have inside the tower as a public attraction.

What is a water tower?

A water tower is a structure designed to hold a reservoir of water and also to help maintain the water pressure in a municipal water system. Water towers have been used for centuries to hold supplies of water, and are capable of providing water even in the event of a power outage or pump failure, because they are elevated, meaning that the water in the water tower will pressurise the pipes with the assistance of gravity. Many areas use water towers as backup water supply systems to ensure that citizens have access to running water, and most small towns can store up to a day's worth of water in their water towers.

For every foot above the ground, a water tower is capable of generating more pressure. Typically, a water tower is installed on raised ground, and the tank of the tower is elevated to increase the potential pressure. In a small town, a single water tower can pressurise enough water to supply water to the entire town. In large cities, tall private buildings sometimes use water towers to supply their tenants, since the city's water system is not pressurised enough to get water to the top floors in peak periods of demand. When used in combination with a municipal water system, the pressurising ability of a water tower serves two primary functions.


The first function is to maintain constant pressure in the system, and prevent the emergence of negative pressure situations. Negative pressure can suck groundwater of other sources of pollution into the water supply, contaminating the town's water. A town with a water tower, however, can rest assured that the water lines will be fully pressurised at all times, keeping the water safe to drink. In some areas, a water tower must be attached to the municipal water system for this reason.

The second function of a water tower is more economic. A water tower can deliver water at periods of peak demand relatively easily, while a pump may have difficulties. By using a pump and a water tower, a town can save costs on the pump by pumping for average demand. When demands for water outstrip the abilities of the pump, the water tower kicks in to supply more water. When the pump is providing more water than the town needs, as often happens at night, the excess fills the water tower so that it is ready for the next period of peak demand.



Google HQ

Surely, the Google HQ THE BEST place to work. So good infact that it's hard too see how any work actually gets done. With rules like 'not being allowed to be more than 100 metres away from food at any time', surely work is a second priority. Google want to be known as the company that puts users first and there is a heavy emphasis on the idea that work and play can co-exist. Its offices house a games room, a library in the style of an English country house and an aquarium where over-worked Googlers can lie in a bath full of red foam and stare at fish. Offices have bean bag chairs and heading down to the floor below involves taking a slide or firemans pole down (on the basis that you take no laptops or drinks with you!). If the day ever came where employees were feeling under stress, they can visit the massage parlour followed by a nap in one of Google's sleep pods. With more than 70 offices in more than 40 countries around the globe Google must have hundreds of happy employees!!

With the offices designed in such a way, employees must look forward to coming into work and calling in sick must be a rareity ...and not just because there is an on site doctor! 

'Working at google'